Vacancy -- Up to 30 Brexit Officers *closing date extended*

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Economy, Skills and Natural Resources
Energy, Planning & Rural Affairs (EPRA)
HEO - £32,460 - £39,690
£29,100
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Fixed term
Two years fixed term contract or secondment. You will be expected to remain as part of the Brexit flexible resource pool based in EPRA for the 2 year contract. There is no scope to be made a permanent employee of Welsh Government through this scheme.
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

Energy, Planning & Rural Affairs (EPRA) has created a number of exciting new roles to take forward an extensive portfolio of work to ensure Brexit is delivered effectively for Wales.  These roles provide opportunities to work at the heart of a challenging and fast moving environment which is helping to ensure that the people of Wales get the best deal as the UK leaves the EU. 

There are a wide range of roles.  Some roles involve work in policy development and stakeholder engagement; others need more specialist skills on project management, communications and economic and statistical analysis.  A number of the roles will also involve supporting close inter-governmental working with the UK Government and other devolved administrations to support EPRA’s engagement in negotiations on a variety of policy areas.  As a result many of the posts will provide an opportunity to support the Cabinet Secretary (EPRA) and the Environment Minister.

You will be at the centre of crucial work for the Department so these roles will be fast paced, varied and interesting.  You could be posted to any one of the areas covered by the EPRA portfolio such as Office of Chief Veterinary Officer, farming, food, fisheries, forestry, waste, water, decarbonisation, animal & plant health or provide support in developing successor programmes for major EU-driven funding programmes including the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

Key tasks:

These posts offer an excellent opportunity to develop a blend of skills.  While there will be variances between posts, they will all require some of the following key tasks:

  • Undertaking Project and Programme Management (PPM) of a number of complex tasks often to tight deadlines.  You will be responsible for ensuring these are well managed, ensuring any potential problems or issues are highlighted on a timely basis and addressed.  You may have a project management qualification but this is not essential for the role.
  • Policy Development – analysing existing, and developing new, policies based on robust evidence.  This will often involve formal consultations and commissioning expert advice. 
  • Operational Delivery – reviewing existing operational processes and procedures and identifying how these could be improved to provide a better service to customers and stakeholders throughout Wales. 
  • Governance – effectively manage our exit from the EU and to ensure that the new systems and process that operate beyond it are properly accountable to the Welsh Ministers and the people of Wales.
  • Legislation – working on primary or secondary legislation.
  • Analytical – analysing complex information reaching robust conclusions based on the analysis and communicating these clearly and succinctly.
  • Communicating often complex information clearly and confidently both orally and in writing with Welsh Government staff at different grades and external stakeholders.
  • Working in various roles within the pool that will require the ability to be flexible and operate in a fast paced environment.   

Development opportunities:

These jobs are at the heart of how future policy will be drafted and negotiated and how these policies will be delivered across Wales following our withdrawal from the EU.  You could be:

  • Understanding how long term strategy is developed to take account of and shape the wider Brexit strategic picture;
  • Horizon scanning across the UK to find and interpret trends and information relevant to planning and implementing Brexit issues;
  • Proactively making links and working with a wide range of WG teams and external partners including other Governments in the UK;
  • Sourcing and using evidence; statistics; reports and intelligence from partner bodies to assist with policy making;
  • Working with Ministers and Ministers Offices in a subject area which attracts wide political interest from all political parties.

Closing Date:

12/04/2018, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Desirable
Can read some routine work-related material with support e.g. dictionary
Can hold most work-related conversations
Can understand routine work-related conversations
Can prepare routine work-related material with checking

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Competencies

1.  Seeing the Big Picture - Be alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact or benefit own and team’s work [your evidence should include example of what you have done, with outcomes.

2.  Changing & Improving - Actively encourage ideas from a wide range of sources and stakeholders and use these to inform own thinking [your evidence should include what you did to work with others and how this influenced your approach, with outcome.

3.  Making Effective Decisions - Recognise patterns and trends in a wide range of evidence/ data and draw key conclusions, outlining costs, benefits, risks and potential responses [your evidence should include your actions and outcomes.

4.  Leading & Communicating - Communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner with all stakeholders and stand ground when needed [your example should include how you did this and outcome.


Job Specific Criteria 

1.  Evidence of having experience of working on one of the following key tasks listed in the advertisement – specifically - project & programme management; policy development; operational delivery; governance, legislation or communicating complex information to different audiences. 

2. Evidence of when you have assisted with the interpretation of information from a range of sources and then apply it to finding practical solutions.

3. Experience of working collaboratively in a fast paced situation to support delivery of outcomes.

Assessment Process

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.

Location: Pan Wales – posts could be based in one of the main Welsh Government offices at Cathays Park (Cardiff); Aberystwyth; Carmarthen; Llandudno Junction. 

Pattern of work - Full time, but open to staff who wish to work on a part time job share basis. 

A pool of flexible resources is being established in EPRA.  Staff in this pool will be deployed across EPRA to work on Brexit projects.  This may mean undertaking longer projects or  multiple projects during the appointment.  It will depend on the business requirements of the work and the particular skills of the individual. 

Linda Newton telephone 0300 025 5655 Sarah Reid telephone 0300 025 9081

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have a disability which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to a disability in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.